Easy family dinner

Wow, is it hot out! My run felt like I was in a convection oven- hot, dry, air blowing at me from all directions. It was actually great! Summer has been so MIA that I loved being in the heat, even if it made it a little more difficult to run. I feel like these difficult training days will really help me out when I am running the Newport Half in October.

Tonight is really the last night of sanity for me until Sunday! Work meetings start tomorrow, and I will be in meeting rooms from 8-5:30, followed by dinners that will probably go until about 10. I am feeling energized though, plan to check in with a few posts, and have a few guest posts that I will be featuring. Its still not too late! If you want to submit a guest post please email it as soon as you can.

Tonight is also the beginning of the arrival of lots of family. My sister in law flew in from Ireland this afternoon, and I am cooking up a rustic, veggie filled pasta sauce that I am going to serve over organic whole wheat penne, with a side of grilled aparagus with lemon and sea salt, and a choice of Travessia rose wine or Harpoon Summer beer (water and juice as well!)

I love making pasta sauces because you can be so creative and healthy, and almost everyone likes pasta! This one combines the following:

8 cloves chopped garlic

1 large shallot, chopped

1/2 vidalia onion, chopped

4 teaspoons EVOO

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 can Trader Joe’s organic plum tomatoes, crushed by hand

2-3 cups of baby bella mushrooms

1 large zucchini chopped into half moons

sprinkle of sea salt and fresh ground pepper

I started by sauteeing the mushrooms, shallots, red pepper flakes, and onion for a few minutes until the onions started getting soft. I then threw in the garlic and sauteed for a few more minutes. Careful! I hate when garlic burns! I then added the chopped zucchini, let it sit on low for a few more minutes, added the tomatoes, stirred, and left on a very low flame.

Prepping this meal takes no more than 20 minutes, and it is good to sit and simmer away while I do other things to get ready for the rest of the week. The smell of garlic and onions is SO good!

I am off again to meet and greet the family, but I hope to have some fun posts this week on the Boston Harbor Islands, Fig’s restaurant, and some new recipes I am hoping to try soon.

Thanks to all of you who commented on last night’s post on food marketing. I couldn’t sleep last night because I was just going through the grocery aisles in my head, picturing all of the misleading that goes on there. I am definitely not done writing about this topic!

Oh that sauce looks great! I love home made pasta sauce. I liked your post on the marketing stuff – it really is incredible the way the food labels work. These days I am so surprised when i go looking for a ready made salad and check the ingredients, and the dressing has a gazillion ingredients! WTF?